Safety lock for textile machine covers



Jan. 8, 1935.

J. Moss 1,987,562

SAFETY LOCK FOR TEXTILE MACHINE COVERS Filed Jan. 16, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet l Jan. s, 1935. J. Moss f 1,937,562.v

SAFETY LOCK FOR TEXTILE: MACHINE COVERS Filed Jan. 16, i932 2sheets-sheep 2 o www* Patented Jan. 8, 1935 Joseph Moss, NorthsmithelaRQ-I., assign@ to Whitin MachineWorks, '.Whitinsville, `Mass., acorporationof Massachusetts f f 'Y Application January 16,

11 claims. (el. 1922-1355'-Y f The present invention relates toA locks,`and more particularly to safety locks for cotton ma.- chinery, suchas'openers and pickers, wherein operating parts such as beaters travelkat such high speeds as to be inconspicuous or invisible to theeye. L

The mainobject of the present invention i`s to provide vlocking meansfor cotton machinery to permit convenient opening of. the doors orguards of enclosed operating parts when the machine is not running, butpositively to prevent access to theseparts of the machine when theselatter are in operation, and also to prevent'starting of the machinewhen the .locking devices are in unlockedgrelation.` A further object ofthe invention is tol provide a single locking Adevice capable ofeffecting simultaneously the freeing and securing ofv a plurality ofdoors or guards.v

In thejattempt to Vprovide satisfactorysafety locks for such doors,covers, and guards, a variety of exacting conditions must be met. Thedevices must be simple' and direct in their action, to make certain thatthey will Workevery time. They must be easy to operate, and impose noextra burden or nuisance on the operato-r, Aor he will nd a way torender them inoperative and subject himself to the hazard they are aimedto protect him from, just to simplify his work. They must not giveaccess to the enclosed parts until vthe latter have actually come torest,'as serious accidents have happened where the safety looks havebeen rendered inoperative as soon asthe driving power is unshipped, andaccess kthus allowed to the parts While still travelling under their ownmomentum. They must not rely wholly on magnetism or gravity for their jmaintenance in a relation to prevent opening of the doors or guards, oron the force of springs lwith their propensity forfailurewithoutwarning, or` o-n friction when subjected to the vibrationcaused by the running of the machine in question or adjoining machines,as is nearly always the case. 'l'

With the aim of satisfying these requirements, the invention comprises awhollymechanical and positive safety lock which-not 'only llocks thecovers in closedv position when the drive-'shaftgof the dangerousmovingparts is infrunning relation, and correspondingly locks thedrive-shaft against rotation before the covers lcan be raised, asheretofore in certain instances, but also locks the locking deviceitself in one or other of the positions it assumes in effecting thereciprocal locking and release of these parts, so that it can'- notshift or give way accidentally; further, the means adopted for thuslocking the locking delock automatically` l 1 vice against unintentionalshiftarel providedl in L 'duplicata rendering vthe @possibility 'ofvtheir simultaneous failure practically 'riegligib-le,v and the saidmeans may also'be arranged so as to as sumemtheir. control vo ver` themovement'of Athe lOther "aims andc vantagesof the Ainvention are 'aswill appear'fro'm theiaccompanring Specifation .and Qlms; taken'n1011116011011 With the drawings illustrating? 'preferred embodiments. Inthedra'vvings,f'` y FigQl is at,horizontal-sectional Viewv ;of ea cottoncleaner :embody/ing a, lock` of the present invention." f' I Y i lFig. 2an end elevation rof thecleaner. l Y

Fig. 3 isa detail sectional'view of fthe bolt and associated parts.v H y,Figji'is aplan viewgof certain of the parts of Figi` in dis',assembledArelation. A v

` Fig. 5 `isa detaill in" vertical section, showing an ,alternativeself-actuating form.

. The invention is j herein illustrated: 'i and describedV as embodiedin1 a cotton beater or cleaner having twodoors lor covers, and as shownin the drawings comprises a frame -1,0, having a cleaning 25 chamberenclosed atfthe top by the vcapV 1f1 and provided inthe bottompqrtionthereof with any suitable opening and*'cle`a.ning instrumentalities,such as grids and perforated plates. `A rotor `orbeater'fcomplising,Milureliiy '0f .Speed'dscs 14 from which extendadialf arms', 15 l worksyithin lthe chamber2v i'fhQ'jdldS, being fixedonfashaft 1.6 onwhich aremo'unted tight and loose pulleys '18 andfZOrespectively, "The shaft is drivenr by a belt whichmay be shifted f from`:one pulley to the other.

The chamberis provided on (Opposite sides with an inlet 26 and anoutlet'28 respectively disposed adjacent opposite ends ofthel casing,vThe Adoors and- 3 2 are provided to permit -acc'essto the i interior of'thefcleanen the formerjon'vthe inletv side andthe latter` onthelo'utlet sidefof the ma'- chine.- 'The doors Aarejpi'voted on hinges33.` and swingt outward upwardinopening.v The doors have'suitable means`:(notfshown) for holding them'htightly closed in ai'rti'ght relationwhen themachine is running. The' door v32-lies adjacent to the drive-endframe of the machine,

andv at theopposite end it"terminate's short of 50 theendframe and'adjacent Ato the outlet connec- 1 i tion`2`8'; correspondingly, thedoor3O`Kdoes not extend to the end frame of themachine at thedrive-endthereof, because of the presence of the inlet -ZGadjaCent-thisend; but extends yfrom-the inward lateral face of such inlet clear tothe opposite end frame of the machine.

In accordance with the invention, these doors are provided with safetylocking means supplemental to and independent of the means for holdingthem tightly closed. Thus, the door 30 is locked' byY a lon'g'rod 40whichfp'a'sses through the end-frame of thel machine, and under theinlet connection 26, with its extremity outside of and overlapping thematerial of the door, in such.V

relation as to prevent the lifti-ngof the door until the rod iswithdrawn a short distanc'ei The door 32 is similarly locked by a shortrod 42 which correspondingly overlies the edge" ofthe doorito'fpreventits being raised. The' rods-wand i2-'are of such lengths that the doorsmay be unlocked by sliding the rods slightly toward the drive-end of themachine and to permit such sliding action the rods are fitted looselythrough holes in the-end frame and the corresponding end portions of thegirts 36 extendix-ig'v the length" of the' machine, the longer of therods, '40, 'having an auxiliary guide 37 fixed on the lengthwiseyerticalflange of the gutes; y j Y `To provide for positively maintaining. therods 40 and42 in locking. position; .except when the shaft 16 islatrest, the" rods 40 and`42l are connected` respectively, with shift.arms44 and 46. Each arm-issecurely fastened to its corresponding rod bya pin 48; The arms are-connected together by a yoke 50 secured to eacharm by a bolt `v52. vOne of the arms, .shown as' the arm 4'4, has anintegral outwardly projecting cylindrical stop 54, which is adapted toenter between two of the projecting fins 56 formed integrally ontheinternal face of the tight pulley 1'8.. A number. of the fins 56- areprovided,l spaced only a vsufficient distance to permit. the entrance ofthe stop 54 into one of the interstices'between adjacent-hns when thepulley is Aat rest, and striking against the rounded end ofthe stop toprevent its entry if brought against them while the pulley is rotatingat speed. The stop 54 is so disposed that it is voutof engagement withthe 'iins when the rods are locking position, but must enter into aposition between two adjacent ns before' the locking rods aremovedsuiiiciently to unlockthe doors.l

The arms 44 and .46 are -moved towardor away from the pulley to withdrawthe rods` from lockingy relation with 4the;de )rs-or return them to suchlocking relation by two lock-.actuating and keeping devices inU the formofsliding bolts, both of identical construction. `Each -bolt comprises arod 58 slidingly 'movable endwise in bearings 46,0 on a bracket 62 which`has a bottom 4securing plate 641attachednas by bolts 65V to flanges`66which extend along theV end. of the casingandup Y tothe bearingfor shaft16. Each rod 5|8-passes through anv opening Y59; in its correspondingshift arm, -which latter lies between fthe bearings 60 of eachbracket62. Upstanding from ythe bolt rod 58 is a manually operated -handle 68having a knob at the top.` The handle is embraced between the main`portion of the shift arm and a finger '7l formed integrally on theshift arm, permitting swinging of the handle about the axisof the bolt,but causing bolt and shift arm to move together when the bolt is movedendwise. The shift arms are moved asa unit `trom locking to unlockingposition, or vice versa, by grasping both of the knobs 70 and sliding fthe bolts endwise. In `this manner the lock. is operated to withdraw therods 40 and 42 from the doors and block the rotation of the beater, orto lock the doors and free the beater for resumed rotation.

In order to secure the lock-actuating bolts in one position or the otheragainst vibration or accidental displacement, and thus lock the lockingdevice against unintentional shift which has resulted in accidents, eachbracket' '62rhasfat the top a horizontal shelf '72, formed in the edgewith two notches, an inner notch 74 and an outer notch 76, the former toengage the bolt handle 68when.in inward. or door-locking position, and

Y the latter to engage the handle when in outward or beater-lockingposition. The handle, when receivediinone'of thenotche's, is tipped at acon- :bolt from being-Ajarred out of position, and thus from beingpermitted to move. endwise.

LIn Fig'. 5- is shown means for making the device self-locking in eitherthe. door-locking or beater-locking position; if this additionalsafeguardi is desired. .The shank of each` handle 68 is simply. bentaway fromthe beater-'shaft 16, so tliatthecenter .of gravity of thevhandle and its knob"can never be carried into va position verticallyabove the axis of the Abolt 58.y Thus exlceptwhen actively upheld by thet.operators hand, the handle will always falljagainstthe shelf 7,2, andhence will automatically enter the notch 74or76-. f,

Itis to be noted that the provision of the lockactuating and keepingbolts 58 in duplicate doubles the certainty of operation and hence thesafety assured by the structure without imposing any material burden `onthe operator, who simply grasps the ltwo bolt handles simultaneously,one witheach hand. Y, H y

Under normal running conditionsgthefshaft is rotated by the tightpulley,the bolts are retained lockingmovement ofthe rods, and at the same timemake a sufficient noise Vto warn the oper-` ator of hismistake. When thebelt is running on the loosepulley, and the rotor has come .to a finistop, the operator-may easily, unlockthe doorsbyM disengaging. the`lock-actuating bolt handles from the inner notches 74 and then slid- 4ing Vthe bolts outwardly until the handles move into the -outer notches`76, the bolts each carrying its respective shift-arm `and rodoutward. Since it is necessary for the operator to release and shiftboth bolts -578 `silnultaneousely, both shift arms are moved together'tounlocking position, .and there is no possibility of cramping the boltsor thevrods in their bearings.l The stop 54 enters the space betweentwoadjacent fins and-positively prevents accidentalstartngof the machinewhilevthe doors are unlocked. If the-stop should rstrike one of the finsand `'refuse toenterone of the spaces, the pulley may be turned slightlyby hand. After unlocking, either or both doors may be easily opened. y nY y n f Since the stop 54' engagesdirectly with Vthe drivingconnections, itis impossible to unlock the doors until the machine iscompletely at rest. Even after the belt is shiftedfrom the tight to theloose pulley, the operator is compelled to wait until the machine slowsdown, before the doors can be unlocked.

It will be seenthat in the preferred form of the invention, only asingle stop 54 is employed, controlling themovement of both locking rods40, 42, making the operation of entering this stop in proper relationbetween adjacent fins 56 an easy one and simply and quickly performed. Asimilar stop might be used on the other shift arm, but this is notnecessary, because complete protection is afforded by the single stop,nor is it usually desirable,v because of the added care and nicety offitting incident to mounting the parts with suiicient accuracy so thatboth stops might enter between fins of the pulley. However, if desiredfor any reason to make provision for locking the doors independently ofeach other, such a stop would be provided on each shift arm, and theshift-arms allowed to move independently by removal of the yoke 50. Y

Although the preferred form of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to the arrangements of parts herein specifically disclosed, butmay be embodied in various modifications within the scope of the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, of a driving wheel for such working parts having a plurality ofinterstices, cover-locking means, a stop moving with the cover-lockingmeans to occupy one of the interstices as the covers are unlocked, and abolt serving both' to impart locking and unlocking movement to thelocking means and to maintain such locking means in both locked orunlocked relation.

2. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to such partsand a driving wheel for such working parts, of locking means movableparallel to the axis of the driving wheel to lock the latter and freethe covers, and conversely to free the wheel and lock the covers, and amember moving with the locking means and locking it in both extremepositions of its movement. y

3. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, and a driving wheel for such parts, of locking devices movableparallel to the axis of the driving wheel to lock the latter and freethe covers, and conversely to free the wheel and lock the covers, and abolt forced to travel with the locking devices and engageable with a xedpart on the casing so as to be locked against movement.

4. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, and a driving wheel for such parts, of locking devices movableparallel to the axis of the driving wheel to lock the latter and freethe covers, and conversely to free the wheel and lock the covers, a boltforced to travel with the locking devices and having an angularlyprojecting portion, and notches in connection with a fixed part on thecasing to receive such portion to lock the bolt and thus the lockingdevices against movement.

5. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, of `a locking rod for eachof ,several covers and located at apoint relatively remote from other locking rods, shift arms secured tothe locking rods and connected together to compel movement of all theshift -arms and locking rods in unison, a driving wheel'driving themoving parts having a plurality of projections, and a master stop on oneof the shift arms to enter between the projections and prevent rotationof thedriving wheel when any and all of the locking rods are withdrawnto permit opening the covers, and conversely to prevent withdrawal ofany of the locking rods while the driving wheel is rotating.

6. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, of a locking rod for each of several covers, shift arms fixed tothe locking rods and connected together to move in unison, a drivingwheel having a plurality of projections, a stop on one of the shift armsto enter between the projections when the locking rods are withdrawn topermit opening the covers, and means apart from the locking rods lockingthe shift arms in coverlocking and also in cover-freeingdrive-preventing relation.

7. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, of driving means for the said working parts having a plurality ofprojections, a locking rod for each of several covers, a shift armconnected to each locking rod, means connecting the shift arms together,a stop in connection with the shift arms to enter between projections ofthe driving means, and a sliding bolt for simultaneously moving theshift arms.

8. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing Workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, of driving means for the said working parts having a plurality ofprojections, a locking rod for each of several covers, a shift armconnected to each locking rod, means connecting the shift arms together,a stop on one only of the shift arms, adapted to enter betweenprojections of the driving means when the latter is stationary, a pairof sliding bolts for simultaneously moving the shift arms, a bolt handleand a bracket for each bolt, the bracket having notches to engage thehandle ineither locked or unlocked position, the handle being inclinedwhen received in one of the notches to retain it in place againstvibration.

9. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable fo-r access to suchparts, of driving means for the said working parts having a plurality ofprojections, a sliding locking rod for each of several covers, a shiftarm connected to each locking rod, means connecting the shift arms forsimultaneous movement, bolt rods passing through the shift arms, ahandle connected to each bolt rod, a portion on each shift arm toembrace the handle, and a stop on one of the shift arms to enter betweenthe projections of the driving means when the locking rods are clear ofthe covers.

10. In textile machines, the combination with a casing enclosing workingparts thereof, and covers or the like removable for access to suchparts, of driving means for the said Working parts hav- 11- lIn textilemachines, the combination with a casing enclosing Working parts thereof,and covers or the like removable for access to such parts, of a movablestructure including portions positioned to prevent opening the covers, aguide on the casing, a member travelling with the said structure andArelative to such guide, and means for preventing relative movementbetween this member and the guide.

JOSEPH MOSS.

